Improving Resilience Among Employees High in Depression, Anxiety, and Workplace Distress

Allison L. Williams; Acacia C. Parks; Grace  Cormier; Julia  Stafford; A.V.  Whillans

Article | International Journal of Human Resource Management | Forthcoming

Improving Resilience Among Employees High in Depression, Anxiety, and Workplace Distress

by Allison L. Williams, Acacia C. Parks, Grace Cormier, Julia Stafford and A.V. Whillans

Abstract

Depression and anxiety are costly for both employees and employers, in terms of direct medical costs as well as costs stemming from lost productive time and missed days at work. Resilience training has been shown to improve workplace functioning for employees, which suggests that it is a promising avenue for reducing some of these costs. However, existing resilience trainings are often conducted in-person, suffer from low levels of engagement, and are difficult to scale to large groups of employees. In the current study, we compared change in resilience over time among employees who were assigned to and used an online resilience intervention platform (Happify), employees who were assigned to and used a scaled-down psychoeducational version of the platform, and employees who did not use their assigned platform (i.e., a no-usage comparison group). We did this separately for users high in emotional distress (clinical levels of depression and/or anxiety) and users high in workplace distress (high levels of presenteeism and/or burnout). Across both samples, employees who used the Happify platform showed significantly greater increases in resilience over eight weeks than employees in the two other groups; the latter two comparison groups did not differ significantly from each other. These findings suggest that a technology-based resilience intervention, which employs a low-touch, cost-effective, easily scalable intervention format, can successfully improve resilience among vulnerable employee groups, which may have important benefits in workplace settings.

Keywords: depression; Anxiety; engagement; resilience; presenteeism; employee engagement; mental health; Employees; Emotions; Health; Online Technology; Performance Productivity;

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Williams, Allison L., Acacia C. Parks, Grace Cormier, Julia Stafford, and A.V. Whillans. "Improving Resilience Among Employees High in Depression, Anxiety, and Workplace Distress." International Journal of Human Resource Management (forthcoming).

Although people may think that money improves one’s relationships, research suggests otherwise. Focusing on money is associated with spending less time maintaining relationships (Whillans & Dunn, 2018) and less desire to rely on others for help (Vohs, Mead, & Goode, 2006). But why does focusing on money relate to worse social outcomes? We propose that when people base their self-esteem on financial success – i.e., have financially contingent self-worth – they are likely to feel pressured to pursue success in this domain, which may come at the expense of spending time with close others. Consistent with this idea, results of four cross-sectional studies (N=2,439) and a daily diary study (N=246) revealed that basing one’s self-worth on financial success is associated with greater feelings of loneliness and social disconnection, and this may be related to experiencing less autonomy and spending less time with family and friends.

This case tells the story of Spiber, a Japanese technology start-up company. To reflect the company’s values, the leadership team implemented a new and unique salary-setting process: each employee had the authority to choose their own salary. In the course of discussing the case, students are asked to contemplate the challenges that managers face when incentivizing innovation and are invited to brainstorm methods for motivating the behaviors that drive innovation. Students consider the merits of Spiber’s new compensation system and reflect on issues of pay equity. The case allows for a rich discussion regarding the design of effective and fair compensation systems, with a special emphasis on exploring how organizational culture and the broader social and cultural context in which an organization is embedded shape employees’ responses to compensation systems.

Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2020

Income Volatility Increases Financial Impatience

Colin West, A.V. Whillans and Sanford DeVoe

Using a multi-method approach, we investigate whether income volatility is associated with financial impatience—the preference to receive a small sum of money immediately over a larger sum of money later. We find that experiencing more income volatility—including a higher frequency of either income dips or spikes – is associated with greater financial impatience. Using longitudinal data on biannual income, Study 1 demonstrates that this effect operates above and beyond individual differences in income risk preferences and wealth. Study 2 conceptually replicates these correlational findings with recent month-to-month income volatility and finds that this effect occurs primarily among people who report having little control over their finances. Using a longitudinal field experimental with low-income working women, Study 3 tests for a causal effect of an externally-induced spike in monthly income on changes in financial impatience. In a pre-post test experimental design, participants randomly assigned to receive cash transfers amounting to a median monthly income spike of 29% exhibit significantly greater financial impatience compared to a control condition in which participants receive no cash transfers. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for employers and policymakers.

Keywords: income volatility; compensation; impatience; time preferences; Income; Personal Finance; Behavior; Demographics; Policy;

Citation:

West, Colin, A.V. Whillans, and Sanford DeVoe. "Income Volatility Increases Financial Impatience." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-053, October 2020. View Details

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Improving Resilience Among Employees High in Depression, Anxiety, and Workplace Distress

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